Hoop toy



T. T. lNOUYE Dec. 24, 1957 HOOP TOY Filed Aug. 24,' 1955 I INVENTOR. TOM 7.-//VOUYE wf 74 /PNEYS HOOP TOY Tom T. Inouye, Denver, Colo. Application August 24, 1955, Serial No. 530,255

Z Claims. (Cl. 46-47) This invention relates to an improved toy of the kind that requires good muscular coordination and dexterity to properly operate and which, therefore, serves as a challenge to children and also to grown persons and promotes healthy competition.

The toy, briefly described, consists of a circular hoop of a diameter of about fifteen (15) inches more or less. There is nothing critical about the diameter. Threaded onto the hoop are a number of rings of various kinds of material and of a diameter of approximately one (l) inch. The hoop must be present an even outer surface.

The player grasps the hoop and starts the rings to rotate rapidly about the hoop and immediately thereafter starts turning the hoop and subjecting it to some vibration, the object being to make the rings climb upwardly along the hoop until they reach the level of a horizontal plane passing through the hoops center.

Having thus described the invention in a general way and explained the objects thereof, the invention will now be described in greater detail for which purpose reference will be had to the accompanying drawing in which the invention has been illustrated, and in which:

Figure l is a side elevational view of the toy showing the same at rest and suspended from the operators hand;

Figure 2 is a side elevational View showing the toy in action with the rings positioned at the height of a horizon tal diametrical plane; and

Figure 3 is a section taken on line 3-3 Figure 2.

Referring now to the drawing, numeral 5 designates a circular hoop of an internal diameter of approximately fifteen (l5) inches. In the preparation of the toy the hoop must be cut and a plurality of rings 6 threaded onto it; after the rings have been positioned on the hoop it is preferably welded, .brazed or otherwise joined to make it endless. The joint must be made smooth so as not to differ from the other parts thereof. It is sometimes desirable to add or substract rings so as to modify the operation and in such cases the ends are interconnected by some means, such as are frequently used in connection with key rings. The rings are preferably -of different material and, therefore, have different coefficients of friction with the material of the hoop. The rings are also preferably differently colored.

To start the game the operator grasps the hoop with one hand and holds it suspended as shown in Figure 1. With the other hand he starts the rings to rotate about the hoop, the faster the better. Immediately after the rings have been started rotating about the hoop the operator begins to turn the hoop in the direction of the arrow in Figure 2. During the turning of the hoop it will be subjected to transverse vibrations which serves to keep the rings turning about the hoop. There will be a force tending to move the rings upwardly in the direction in which the hoop turns. This force is mainly due to friction and since it is desirable to employ rings of different material, the frictional force will vary with the coeflicient of friction producing a separation of the rings. The rings will have their inner surfaces in contact with the hoop and will rotate around it as illustrated in Figure 3. During the operation there will be a jingling or tinkling sound made by the rings and this adds to the interest.

The single most important feature of the toy is the nited States Patent use of a plurality of rings on the hoop. The greater the number of rings, the more diicult the top becomes to operate as in an effort to get the lowermost rings rotating, those rings at the upper end of the group have a strong tendency to climb up to the top of the hoop and over where they stop rotating. Thus, the player is faced with the continual problem of elevating the lower rings to the point at which they will begin to rotate without allowing the upper rings to climb over the top of the hoop. The toy with six rings has been found to require several hours of diligent practice on the part of a player before he can get all six rings rotating at the same time and maintain them so. Also, the rings have a tendency to bump into one another and stop rotating which makes the toy even more challenging to the player. Substitution of rings of different weights, rings having different coeicients of friction, or both, for rings of equal weight further increases the difficulty of the toy. Both light rings and those having a high coefficient of friction have a strong tendency to climb over the top of the hoop before the heavier ones can be started rotating. If the heavy or smooth rings having low friction coefficients, on the other hand, are above the light or high-coefficient rings, they tend to suppress rotation of the latter rings. It is apparent, therefore, that the use of several rings on the hoop greatly increases the interest and difliculty developed by the toy. The several rings cooperate with one another in unexpected ways as, for example, a rotating ring may either strike an adjacent ring and start it rotating or be stopped itself.

To get all of the rings 6 up to the level of the plane P--P requires much practice and the game tends to increase muscular coordination and dexterity.

The hoop is preferably made from an iron or steel bar whose outer surface may be smooth or otherwise as desired, and this is considered to be the preferable material as it helps to produce a metallic tinkling sound. Aluminum is a suitable material as the aluminum oxide produces more friction than a non-oxidized surface. The rings may be made of iron, copper, brass, aluminum, or of a suitable plastic, and the different material rings are preferably intermixed in the group. Some of the rings may have smooth surfaces and others may have enameled or coated surfaces.

I claim:

1. A toy comprising: a smooth metal rod formed into a closed hoop; and, a plurality of closed rings of the same diameter mounted on the rod for free slidable movement, the diameter of the rings being substantially greater than the cross-sectional area of the rod, at least some of said rings being of dilerent weight, the rings when manually spun to set said rings whirling around the rod being maintainable in said whirling condition by movement of the hoop in a direction to cause the rod to slide through the rings.

2. A toy comprising: a smooth metal rod formed into a closed hoop; and, a plurality of closed ring-s of the same diameter mounted on the rod for free slidable movement, the diameter of the rings being substantially greater than the cross-sectional area of the rod, at least some of said rings being formed of material having a different coelicient of friction relative to the rod than the others, the rings when manually spun to set said rings whirling around the rod being maintainable in said whirling condition by movement of the hoop in a direction to cause the rod to slide through the rings.

Van Horn July 10, 1906 Reitz Sept. 24, 1918 

